Brian Regan

I once entered a little contest for which the prompt was to write an obituary for a famous literary character. Word limit: seventy-five words. Here's my entry, coming in just under the line at seventy-four words:

Wilbur, one terrific pig, has died. He was slaughtered--a case of mistaken identity. Wilbur is survived by Charlotte's grandchildren, some sheep, a goose, and a rat. Uncle Homer expresses his sympathy to all Wilbur's friends for the sorriest mistake he ever did make. Folks wanting to pay their respects are invited to the viewing and reception at Uncle Homer's house Sunday afternoon. One terrific ham will be served, along with all the trimmings.

Yay! I successfully converted my two-column blog into a three column blog. Tweaks are still needed, though--I've having all kinds of trouble with the header. I'm calling it a night. I must watch my recording of America's Next Top Model.

Last month, I went to see U2 LIVE! They brought the house down; Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will never be the same. The stage ensemble, known as the spaceship or the claw, was massive, the effects spectacular, and the concert only established what I already knew--U2 is the world's greatest rock band. Please notice: my ticket actually reads I M Fan.

Wait till you see the pictures--wait! Don't go yet! You will not believe how close our seats were! I could see Bono's eyebrows even without my binoculars! I could see so well that I saw Larry come to the stage and I yelled at my husband to get Larry on video.

"No one's even out yet," my husband said.

"Turn it on!" I didn't have time to tell him how right I was.

Then the spotlight grew brighter and the stage smokier and the beat of Larry's drums filled the air. Yeah! Larry! I remembered how Larry has carpal tunnel syndrome and gets specially made drumsticks because banging the drums is painful for him, he's been dealing with it for years--but no time to dwell on that, sorry Larry! because Edge appeared in a spotlight, then Adam, then BONO, then all HE!! broke loose and the screaming began! My husband doesn't scream, and there were no other women by me, so I had to do all the screaming for my section. Let me just say for the record, we were well-represented.

Here, for your pleasure, are just a few of the hundred or so photos I took of the concert. I hope you enjoy them!

These first two are from videos:

This bridge spanned the gap from the stage to the catwalk. A sea of hands stretched upwards, trying to reach Bono as he sang "Beautiful Day."This photo is my favorite.

A Whole Lot of Lucky

me & jack

The Summer of Moonlight Secrets

Violet

Scholastic Book Trailer for Violet Raines

Thoughts on Writing

"If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster." --Isaac Asimov

"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up, because by that time I was too famous." --Robert Benchley

"When writers meet, they are truculent, indifferent, or over-polite. Then comes the inevitable moment. A shows B that he has read something of B's. Will B show A? If not, then A hates B; if yes, then all is well." --Cyril Connolly"Yes, it's hard to write, but it's harder not to." --Carl Van Doren

"Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." --Gene Fowler"I always write a good first line, but I have trouble writing the others." --MoliFre

"What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window." --Burton Rascoe

"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else." --Gloria Steinem

"I love being a writer; what I can't stand is the paperwork." --Peter De Vries

"This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back in again." --Oscar Wilde"I will tell you a story." --Jesus (Matthew 21:28, CEV)